Shared Communication Practices and Mental Models in the Virtual Work Environment

Prior research underscores the importance of building and maintaining shared expectations in order for individual members of a team to coalesce and achieve successful team outcomes (Cohen and Bailey, 1997; Mignerey, Rubin and Gorden, 1995). Expectations are part of an individual\u27s mental model of a situation and are developed over time through attaching meaning to behaviors. Shared expectations lower communication costs and determine rules of behavior in organizations (Forsyth, 1998). The impact of virtuality on this process has produced equivocal findings in the literature. The common assumption is that work is harder because members must communicate across boundaries of time and space (Espinosa et al., 2003; Jarvenpaa and Leidner, 1999; Kiesler and Cummings, 2002); however, some research suggests that a lack of shared work practices is a more significant impediment to successful performance outcomes in the virtual work environment (VWE) than the simple presence of various boundaries (Chudoba et al., 2005). In this chapter, we propose that shared expectations of ICT use, as represented in a team\u27s communication media repertoire, are especially critical in the virtual environment where use of media is integral to accomplishing work activities. Maznevski and Chudoba (2000) found that shared understanding of temporal patterns of communication and rhythms of meetings differentiated a successful global virtual team from less successful teams. However, little research has addressed the practices of media use and development of shared expectations in the VWE

In pursuit of socioemotional wealth : the affordances of social media in family firms

Social media which is characterized by easily accessible information technology applications has become ubiquitous in a range of organizations. It simultaneously presents both opportunities and challenges for organizations. Social media has influenced many aspects of organizing and has generated new ways of connecting with employees, customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders. Despite the pervasiveness of social media, there is limited understanding on the impact of social media on family firms. In this chapter, we attempt to remedy the absence of theory on the organizational effects of social media use in a family business context. We utilize an affordance lens to explain how social media can offer four types of affordances to family firms that pursue socioemotional objectives – visibility, persistence, editability, and association. Overall, this chapter yields several theoretical contributions to the family business literature and to our understanding of social media affordances in family firms

Li-Fraumeni syndrome: cancer risk assessment and clinical management

Carriers of germline mutations in the TP53 gene, encoding the cell-cycle regulator and tumour suppressor p53, have a markedly increased risk of cancer-related morbidity and mortality during both childhood and adulthood, and thus require appropriate and effective cancer risk management. However, the predisposition of such patients to multiorgan tumorigenesis presents a specific challenge for cancer risk management programmes. Herein, we review the clinical implications of germline mutations in TP53 and the evidence for cancer screening and prevention strategies in individuals carrying such mutations, as well as examining the potential psychosocial implications of lifelong management for a ubiquitous cancer risk. In addition, we propose an evidence-based framework for the clinical management of TP53 mutation carriers and provide a platform for addressing the management of other cancer predisposition syndromes that can affect multiple organs